Deception
by Still Bullet
Summary: Mistress of illusions, shadows of doubt. Only cowards send tricks to confuse their opponents. With Elika entangled in corruption, it's up to the Prince to banish the illusions and destroy the Concubine. If only it were that easy. 2008 PoP, one-shot


_Oh my god, I hate Fanfiction. I just finished writing all my author's notes and as SOON as I pressed save it had to be all "Nope, sorry, you're not logged in". Argh._

_Well, let me just paraphrase what I wrote because I'm sure you guys don't actually like reading this stuff anyway: Behold, a Prince of Persia fic that I have been working on for a REAL long time now. Wrote it as soon as I got out of a writer's block and finished it just yesterday. Based on a dream and my predictions of the game on my first playthrought. Starring the Cocubine, because I've been told that I should write for her and the Alchemist, which I totally agree with. More at the footnotes._

**_Based on: Prince of Persia (2008. Ubisoft)  
Rating: Too much for K+, so T just to be safe for much akshun and blood and a little, tiny bit of graphic violence.  
Author's Notes: I only went with two ideas and somehow this story came out incredibly detailed and at over 6,500 words. Wow! Hope you guys like this!_**

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Elika's feet stomped onto the frozen ground of the Hall of Coronation as the energy that the Wings of Ormazd plate had given her disappeared from her veins. The Prince's loud crash of pounding footsteps quickly followed her arrival, his sword chinking against his sheath as he landed from the flight. The Prince twitched his gauntleted hand, his head shifting from side to side and his hand hovering above the hilt of his sword. The paranoia that had built up within both of them made them apprehensive and cautious whenever they walked into a quiet area like this—from past experiences, it was easy to tell that they would be ambushed shortly. The Prince was prepared to fight, and Elika could feel the muscles within her limbs tighten with tension.

"Where's the Concubine?" the Prince quickly asked after a moment of silence had left him uneasy. Nothing seemed to respond to him other than his own echo. He continued to jerk his head around, telling Elika in a cautious voice, "Keep an eye out for her." Elika was about to reply to the nervous Prince's words, when her body suddenly felt an odd pressure pushing against her skin. She let out a grunt as black tendrils of corruption had quickly circled her body, forcing her skeleton into an uncomfortable pose and making it hard for her to breathe.

The Prince quickly abandoned his search for the Concubine and instead switched his vision to the captured princess, but a strange sound had soon entered his eardrums, making him grab his sword in anticipation. He was all too familiar with that sound. The Concubine had warped to the scene.

The Prince jerked his head to the Fertile Ground, its blue energy lighting up the Corrupted being who nearly shone in the brilliance of her jewels and ripped clothing. She let out a slight snicker, shaking her head.

"The last of the Ahura. Their queen comes to _die_ in the Hall of Coronation!" She shook her head as she placed a fake tone of depression into her following words. "It's almost a waste of the irony for it to fall on such a humorless people."

The Prince allowed a growl to escape from his chapped lips as he leapt across the river of corruption that blocked his path, being prepared to fight if this particular Concubine wasn't an illusion. He ran towards the cackling woman, unsheathing his sword and striking it into the corruption that formed her flesh. He was unsurprised to know that it was in fact an illusion that disappeared in a flash of pink once his blade had made contact. The Prince let out a curse at the trickery.

"And _I _shall take her place. _Queen of the Ahura_! From light—_darkness_. And you, my _brave _little man, with me as queen, what of you?"

The Concubine had allowed her mutated figure to appear in front of a gate only a few feet away from the Fertile Ground, its gold color-drained and covered in the cold sting of frost. The Prince immediately ran over and once again repeated his actions; the Concubine's figure was gone with a flash.

"From courtesan to queen, my parents would be _so _proud."

The dull gate opened, and the Prince immediately ran into the small corridor ahead, only to find it empty. He then could hear the sound of the Concubine warping behind him; his reflexes automatically made him spin around and he once again struck the illusion with his cold blade, hitting nothing but the frozen air.

"In _pain_, princess? I can end your suffering…as I seek to end _mine_."

Elika watched as the Concubine had appeared before her in a small flash of light, making her eyes sting for a quick moment at the sudden luminosity. Oxygen was forced into her vocal chords with every harsh breath she took, creating grunts that slipped out from her delicate lips. Her body could not even hope to break free of the corruption that swarmed her skin, paining it with depressed thoughts and bitter cold.

"I demand you…set…me…free," she barely managed to say, trying to focus her brown irises on the being in front of her. The Concubine let out an amused snicker from beneath her veil.

"Oh, pity pity, it would seem we have quite a _problem here_, now don't we, princess?" Her words were always surrounded in taunts and mockery. "Why should I release you, hmm? Why should I let the fun end when I have your…_precious _little man within my grasp?" She leaned over and grabbed Elika's chin in between her clawed black fingers. Her solid eyes stared directly into the princess's, striking her heart with an icy pain and causing her much discomfort. Elika jerked her head away from the Concubine's grip, her eyes alit with anger.

"We have defeated you before," she spat back. "He will always be stronger than you. You cannot hope to defeat him!" The Concubine rested her chin on top of her elongated fingers. A snicker slipped out from her invisible lips.

"Oh, I have no intention of killing my _darling _little man," she responded, tossing her hand to the side. "What I plan to do with him is _none of your business._" She flicked her tail behind her as she let out the words, "You do not know the _pain _I suffered the get here, the things I would do to remain. Now watch, my _sweet princess_, as I ruin all your hopes and dreams." She released one final snicker before disappearing in the same pink light as before.

A strange light soon entrapped Elika. This was nothing like the glow that surrounded her figure whenever she used her powers; this light seemed to bring the same feelings as the corruption did—despair, depression, and bitter cold. Elika could feel her body being dragged downward, and she was shocked to know that corruption had begun to swallow her body. She wanted to scream, but it was already too late—the tendrils had engulfed her body, removing her vision and thoughts from the world.

The Prince's feet collided with the cold stone floor once again as he slid down the final ice-layered broken platform. Screams coming from invisible sources echoed in his ears—he was uncertain whether or not this was an illusion or if he had finally gone crazy. It sounded like these invisible figures were being tortured, as clanks of machinery and chains could also be heard. A thought slipped into his subconscious about how the voices could be the ghosts and memories of the people who died under the Concubine's cold heart, but it was interrupted when another figure of the Concubine had appeared before his vision. Acting on impulse, the Prince ran towards the Corrupted being and swung the cold steel of his blade.

Yet it struck nothing.

The Prince turned around once he heard the loud pat of something colliding with the ground. His irises immediately caught the sight of Elika, free of the corruption's grasp and hopefully uninjured. "Elika," he called, his voice soft with relief. He noticed that she looked as though her thoughts were stuck somewhere else, but she switched her attention towards the Prince at the call of her name. "Let's get out of here," he finished, examining the area for anything he could use to climb back to the Fertile Ground.

Elika was surprised to know that she was somehow still existent. Her fear of being swallowed by the corruption had overloaded her mind, making her become terrified with thoughts of how she would be presented before her doom. Elika noticed that her body was no longer tangled by the tendrils that had surrounded her; her skin was left with no injuries. She quickly scanned the area and realized that she was trapped in some kind of large, empty room, but her senses were unable to notice anything that threatened her well-being. The place bore a strange familiarity to her, and she realized that was still within the Royal Palace, although what this particular location was she was uncertain.

"Elika."

The princess spun around to find herself facing the Prince, his blue irises showing relief and tiredness. Elika allowed relieved thoughts to swarm her mind as she ran closer toward her companion without words, his face never seeming more welcoming. Elika had soon stopped in her tracks, however, when she heard a cackle echo in the air. It was easy to tell that it was the Concubine, amused by her approach to the man who would provide her with safety.

"Oh, so _weak_," she said, her figure invisible. The words easily echoed in the empty room, only to be absorbed by the two beings. "What you see in this man is _beyond _my understanding."

A small scream slipped out from Elika's throat as the Prince's features had suddenly changed before her eyes. "Wouldn't you like him with more of a…_clear_ face?" the Concubine's taunting voice asked. "A brighter, cleaner complexion, without that _terrible _scar that haunts him with…_nightmarish memories_?" As the Corrupted woman had let out her words, Elika watched in shock and confusion as the Prince's face had suddenly became completely clear—the dirt and sweat was wiped clean off, his beard stubble had strangely disintegrated, and the scar on his cheek had been swallowed by soft, healthy, bright skin. His skin tone was now much lighter than Elika expected it would be, making her realize just how much dirt had once covered his features.

"What's wrong, Elika?" the illusion asked her, its voice calm yet hinting concern. Elika refused to think believe that it was actually the Prince, as he was completely oblivious to the changes his face had undergone. A feeling of sickness slipped into her stomach at the trick the Concubine was playing with her.

"How about lighter hair?" the Concubine continued, as the coarse dark hair of the Prince illusion lightened into a blonde hue, something she had seen only in pictures. The color was absolutely beautiful—it was as if his hair was made out of threads of pure gold. Elika had to remind herself that it was only a trick, although she couldn't help but think about the merchants and how their pictures made her wish she was a part of their faraway paradise.

The Concubine continued toying with the illusion. "Or maybe better clothes?" she added. The familiar clothing that made the Prince instantly recognizable was soon replaced with flowing royal robes embroidered with diamonds and rubies as the Concubine shouted, "An outfit fit for a king!" The illusion gently reached out its gauntleted hand towards the princess as though he would take her to safety, not seeming to notice how the Concubine was acting as though it were just a doll, while the Concubine let out, "Or maybe you prefer him the way _I_ do…" Elika placed her hand above her mouth as the sight before her shocked her—the illusion had suddenly transformed into what looked like a Corrupted version of the Prince, with glowing eyes and clawed hands, tendrils laced together to form his skin. A feminine cackle echoed in the distance.

Elika was fed up with the Concubine's cowardly tricks. Once the shock had left her muscles, she screamed as she attacked the illusion, the blue energy of her powers surrounding her body. The illusion let out a cry as it seemed to shatter like glass upon impact, its many pieces fading into nothing. Elika could feel her muscles tighten as the Concubine said with a faked depressed tone, "Oh, you ruined my _fun_."

"What did you do to him?" Elika screamed into the air, her brown eyes still not picking up any sight of the puppeteer. "Where is he? Release me from this prison!" She was left without a response for a moment, letting the anger swirl in her mind.

"You don't know the _suffering _I went through when I was imprisoned, the dreams I had broken," the invisible woman hissed. "Well, _princess_, now you will understand the pain that I endured. You can have your…_little man_ back…when Ahriman is free." Another cackle, then silence.

"Ugh, I hate this," the Prince muttered to himself, taking a moment to roll his shoulders. He could feel the sweat linger on his body, making him shiver as the cold air of the corrupted land made it feel as though each drop was freezing right onto his skin. He turned his head to look at Elika behind him and quickly let out, "Remind me to beat that little corrupted heart out of the Concubine the next time I see her." Elika left him without a response, her expression blank. "That is if it's not another stupid illusion," he grunted under his breath.

The Fertile Ground was all the way at the top floor of the underground tower, and by the looks of how destroyed their surroundings were due to the corruption it was obvious they would have to climb. The Prince quickly spotted the first climbing point—a ring on the side of a small building connected to the wall. Eager to escape the hell-hole he was in, he quickly ran up the building, grabbing the ring as he did so, and spotted his next target. With a wall-run, the Prince grabbed a ring connected to a track on the wall. He could feel Elika grab his hand as the ring slid across the track, which brought down a color-drained golden cage to their level. The Prince was alarmed by its sudden appearance at first, but he used it to his advantage. He could feel the coldness of the metal seep through the thick leather of his glove as he climbed the surprising decorative bars of the cage, lifting himself up onto the top.

The Prince allowed a growl to slip out from his rough lips as he spotted the Concubine on top of a building not too far ahead of them, her ripped pink clothing striking color into the otherwise bleak landscape. His clawed fingers twitched as the Concubine said, "Oh no, now you're down there. You're not coming out." The Prince was puzzled at the Concubine's actions as she placed her elongated fingers atop her covered lips, the markings on her hand glowing with a darkened hue. She then moved her fingers away as though she were blowing a kiss, and the two beings watched as an odd shape flew from her arm. The strange thing resembled what looked like either a butterfly or a dragonfly made out of corrupted gas, with particles falling from underneath its belly. It made an odd buzzing sound, and the Prince's eyes widened when he realized that it was coming after them.

Quickly twitching his head to see if there was a way off of the cage, the Prince spotted two icy poles which were probably normally used for hanging flags. Not wasting any time, the Prince jumped across to grab one of the poles. He could feel his fingers slipping off as the ice prevented him from getting a firm grip, and the Prince was forced to fling himself to the next pole. He successfully grabbed it, and then jumped across to what was left of another story in the tower. This floor also had another building with a ring on the side, so he repeated the same procedure as he had before. The Prince was relieved when the odd corrupted butterfly had disappeared behind him, and Elika was not far from him.

"Man," the Prince managed to slip between harsh breaths. "She never gives up, does she?" Elika landed beside him with a lout pat from her bare feet. She left him without a comment.

Continuing on, the Prince leapt into a wall-run and then launched himself across to a wooden beam, tightly wrapped with torn cloth. He climbed to the top of the beam and then launched himself to another beam a little ways ahead of him, but realized that he was too far to reach it.

"Elika?" he yelled, feeling gravity catch up with him. He needed Elika's powers to send him across in order to grab the next beam, but his hand was left empty. "Elika, I need your help, now!" The Prince took in a deep gasp as he watched the beam disappear from his sight. His fingers rapidly tried to grasp the air, expecting something to fill his fingers, but his request was ignored. "_Elika_!" he screamed, looking down to watch his death approach him. There was no way he would be able to survive if he hit the ground at this height. He didn't know what happened to his partner, but she would have saved him by now. He had to save his own life, and fast.

The Prince didn't even think out what he was going to do next. Hoping he could beat gravity, the Prince tried to push himself through the air and into the wall. His arm suddenly began to violently jerk, and he realized that he was successful in reaching it. The claws of his gauntlet managed to catch the stone wall and sent him into a grip-fall, but the Prince began to scream when he realized that the claws weren't embedded enough into the rock and quickly detached themselves. The Prince could feel pain shooting into his feet as he soon collided onto the ground less than a second later. The pain easily threw the Prince off balance and sent his body tumbling across the floor before skidding to a stop across the ice. Moaning in pain, the Prince left his body on the ground for a moment as he felt violent surges circulate through his veins.

Once the pain had toned down enough for the Prince to move, he slowly rose to his feet, his hand now placed on the hilt of his sword in fear that a threat could expose itself. "Elika…?" he weakly called out, wincing once he could take a step. While his bones were rattled and his muscles were screaming at him, it didn't feel like he had broken nor fractured anything. The Prince thanked his unusual amount of luck silently for this.

Before scanning the area for threats, the Prince slowly walked over toward the wall and let his weight fall against it in order to take off the stress from his legs. He could feel his arms stinging as his newly-formed scrapes and bruises made contact with the frost, making him wince. "Damn you, Concubine," he muttered, his weak breaths materializing into foggy puffs. "I'd much rather get cursed by the Alchemist one more time than have to do that again."

The Prince's thoughts were interrupted by a strange blue light, and he looked up to notice Elika, her figure seeming unharmed and glowing with the energy that swam through her veins. "Elika!" the Prince yelled to her, his voice hinting at both relief and concern. He noticed, however, that Elika's expression seemed rather angered, and her body was in an attack-like position as she flew through the air and towards him. The Prince's eyes widened as she came after him. "Hey!" he yelled, waving his gauntlet at her. "Elika! Watch out!" She was still heading right towards him, and it didn't look like she was trying to move away, either.

The Prince yelped as he threw his body to the side as Elika's feet smacked into the wall. Her body surged with blue energy at the impact, forming a huge crack in the wall that would have shattered all the bones in her legs. Yet, Elika appeared as though she was perfectly fine, as she quickly kicked herself off from the wall and smacked onto the frozen ground after performing a back flip. The Prince's brows raised in confusion as he watched from the ground.

"Elika, what are you doing?" he questioned, slowly rising to his feet despite the dull pain he felt. "It's me! Hey!" Elika's expression was still confusingly angered, and with a war cry she leapt at the Prince, trying to punch him with glowing hands. The Prince raised his gauntlet in order to block the attack, and his arm jerked once her hand had made contact. The Prince never realized how powerful that energy was, and he noticed that it had formed a protective layer before her flesh, leaving it completely unharmed.

"Elika, what's wrong with you?" he questioned, as the young woman had recalled her arm and tried to strike for his head this time. The Prince ducked out of the way, and he could hear the _SWISH _as Elika's arm flung inhumanly fast above his head. The Prince jumped back to his feet, and at that moment Elika had tried to knock him off balance with a kick, which he quickly dodged with a skillful leap. "I don't want to fight you!" he yelled at her, his fingers lurking above the hilt of his sword, unsure if he wanted to use it. Elika ignored his words.

The Prince raised his head as Elika had suddenly leapt into the air far above him. He tried to follow her with his eyes but she was somehow too quick for him—she planted her feet onto his shoulders at an angle that allowed her to shove him down onto the ground, making him skid across the ice and stone and scraping his cheek. The Prince winced as his flesh was peeled, his shoulder blades screaming as they tried to readjust their positions. The Prince tried to lift himself up, but realized that something had grabbed onto his ankle. "Elika!" he yelled, trying to kick off her hand with his other free foot. "What are you doing?" His foot had only made contact with the energy that surrounded her body like a force field, forcing it away and leaving Elika unharmed. The Prince could feel his leg suddenly jolt as Elika had somehow lifted him up off the ground and swung him around. She let go of the Prince and sent him flying across the room, landing with a loud _THUD! _and grinding his jaws together. The Prince yelped in pain, feeling tension in his muscles and plenty of stinging scrapes.

Before Elika could attack him again, the Prince jumped onto his feet—being met with disagreements from his muscles—and spun around to face her, his sword now unsheathed and shinning in the dull light of the corrupted world. "Elika, you're giving no choice now," he exclaimed, a drop of blood slipping down his raised arm. He let out a battle cry as he charged for her at a full sprint. Elika simply stood in a defensive position, her hands alit with fierce energy. As soon as he was close enough to her he slashed his sword in her direction. Elika, however, had dodged this by skillfully ducking out of the way, and countered the attack by rolling around to the Prince's side. She was about to strike at him with a punch but he had luckily blocked the attack with his gauntlet once again. The Prince then quickly struck at her with his blade while she was still recalling her arm, and Elika screamed as the cold steel had made contact with her side, jerking to a stop as it hit the bone of her ribs. The Prince drew back his sword, but he was left frozen in shock as he realized that his blade was covered not in blood but in corruption. Black slime oozed out from Elika's wound, which she covered with one hand. Elika growled at her misfortune, and before the Prince even had a chance to move she spun her body around and kicked him straight in the chest.

The force behind the attack was impossibly strong with the help of her powers and sent the Prince flying backwards. His head smacked onto the stone floor as he impacted with the ground, making it impossible to think and leaving him exposed for the moment. Groaning, the Prince tried to regain his thoughts and senses, and he suddenly heard a loud crash. The Prince snapped his eyes open and caught sight of the golden cage he had climbed before now entrapping him. He growled at this, jumping back to his feet and tightening his grip on his sword with both hands. He struck at the golden bars of the cage with all his might, creating a shower of sparks as the metal collided. Yet, not even a mark was left behind.

The patting of Elika's feet was offbeat as she stumbled towards her captured prey, a scowl carved into her face. The Prince mirrored her expression, raising his gauntlet in a position ready to strike, even though he could not even reach a finger through his prison bars.

"Who are you?" he questioned, anger easily recognizable within his voice. "What did you do with Elika?" His opponent left him with silence. "_Answer me_!" he screamed, his head jerking as he spat the words. The woman shook her head, the corruption still slipping through her fingers.

"How weak…" she said, her voice still sounding like Elika's. "She really has gotten into your mind, hasn't she? She has _infected you_. You can't even _think _of anything but your _sweet princess_, can you?" The Prince growled. He was about to respond to the mockery when his capturer suddenly fell to her knees, her weight being support only by her other hand. Her winces seemed to be blended with other voices, and her body was flashing with strange hues. The Prince flinched when her body was surrounded with a pink light, a shout of pain encircling the room. He quickly returned to his defensive position, however, when he realized what the figure had warped into.

There stood the Concubine, her pink clothes flowing in the air that stung at the Prince's cheeks, her body leaning against her staff and her elongated fingers covering her wound. The Prince growled her name at her appearance, feeling both angered and embarrassed at how she had manipulated him like that in attempt to end his life. Well, he couldn't say he was out of her grasp just yet.

"What did you do with Elika?!" he demanded once again, his sword ready to strike at her even though he was imprisoned. The Concubine shook her head at this, a weak snicker escaping from beneath her veil. The Prince's clawed fingers twitched, his muscles becoming tense with hatred. If she was in her reach, he would have battered her to the ground by now.

"Why don't you forget about her, _little man_, and come with me? I can be all that you ever wanted." She straightened her posture against her staff, although she kept her hand on the wound. Corruption still slipped between her long fingers. "After all, you couldn't even tell the difference between me and that _pathetic _little princess you think of so dearly." The Prince lowered his sword and gauntlet at her remarks. Despite the fact that he knew he wasn't getting out of this cage, he still kept his sword unsheathed and his mind apprehensive.

"Just shut up and tell me where Elika is!" he snapped back at her. The Concubine let out a sarcastic sigh.

"Oh, she's fine. Just _fine_," she replied. "Why don't you look behind you and see for yourself?" The Prince swung around at this, and his blue eyes immediately caught sight of the princess of the lost land before him, her expression blank and her eyes hidden behind strands of chocolate hair. Fed up with her tricks, the Prince raised his sword and prepared to slice the illusion in half, but stopped himself short when he heard a yelp from the Concubine. The illusion of Elika disappeared in a dim flash of light, and the Prince spun around to notice that the Corrupted had sunken down, her corruption-covered hand placed atop her forehead. Her eyes were just slits of glowing blue.

_She's too weak to maintain the illusion_, the Prince thought, watching as the Concubine shook her head in attempt to clear her mind. He let a grunt of disappointment of his current situation slip through his lips. _If only I could get to her…_

Elika had wandered around the empty room for the past who-knows-how-long, tracing her steps over and over so many times that she was certain that by the end of the day her constant footprints would form craters on the stone floor. Hopefully she wouldn't be here _that _long, but at the moment it seemed that she was trapped and there was no help coming. The Concubine had not made herself known since she toyed with her using that illusion of the Prince, and Elika muttered to herself that she was better off that way, or else she would have had half of her corruption-laced flesh missing if Elika gotten a hold of her. Her mind had been torn apart by thoughts of what the Concubine had done to her companion, what foul tricks she might be performing on him as well. Anger flew through her veins and pumped into her fists. She released this energy by punching one of the bare walls, her powers forming a protective barrier around her flesh and rendering it unharmed.

That's when she spotted something odd.

A strange shard of what looked like white parchment was stuck to the wall. Elika took interest in it and walked closer to it, her brown irises paying close attention to it. It was then did she realize that it was not parchment at all; instead, it appeared to be some type of shard of what looked like white light. Curious, Elika attempted to touch the shard, but her fingertips felt nothing. They instead drifted past the wall and through the shard as though it were a hole.

_What strange sorcery is this? _she questioned herself, managing to stick several of her fingers through the hole. Her peripheral vision caught movement and she spun around in a defensive pose only to notice yet another shard of white at the wall adjacent to her, this one larger than the other. Elika spun around yet again when her vision caught sight of another shard, then another, and another. They seemed like tears in the walls of the empty room, bringing down the bindings that held her and presenting her with a white abyss. This white eventually engulfed her until any signs of the old room had disappeared, leaving Elika dumbstruck. She attempted to walk, but taking a step did not lead her eyes into seeing anything familiar. She was standing in nothing but a purely white, blank abyss.

Or so she thought.

The whiteness soon began to drain out from the world, as though it were curtains being pulled down by an invisible force. Strange shapes and colors replaced the abyss, all unrecognizable as they were strangely blurred, although this was not her eyes tricking her, Elika realized. The shapes and colors began to come into focus, and Elika realized that she was standing in the exact same spot in the Hall of Coronation as she was when she was tangled by corruption tendrils. The Fertile Ground stood before her in its lost glory, the blue steams of light dancing around in the air, trying to grab the attention of any that would restore it. "Was that all just…an illusion?" Elika murmured to herself, her eyes scanning the area for any threats. _Was I really just being tricked by the Concubine that entire time?_

Elika's thoughts were struck short when she heard an angered growl from the lowest floor of the small tower. A weak snicker followed, easily betraying the presence of the Concubine. A little worry struck Elika's stomach as she realized what could be happening. She kept her footsteps at a light pat as she walked over to the broken edge of the floor and her eyes caught sight of the Prince entrapped in the golden cage, the Concubine standing in front of it. Elika's mind was instantly flooded with the sense of urgency and rescue, fearing that the Prince could be injured.

The Prince still kept his sword within his grip even though he placed his gauntleted hand across his leather-clad hips. His eyes locked with the Concubine's in a cold glare, however he had to turn them away after a short while as he could not stare into the empty eyes of the Corrupted any longer. With frustration of his capture, the Prince threw his head around and released a curse under his breath, but he readjusted his vision when his eyes noticed something…familiar.

Up on the top floor stood Elika, her golden-embroidered shirt striking color and making her noticeable within his vision. Apparently he had been looking at her for a bit too long, as the Concubine croaked her head around, her voice weakly snapping, "Oh, what are you _looking at_ my little man?" An angered scowl escaped her veil as she also caught sight of the princess, her corruption-laced skin pulsating with hate.

"Elika!" the Prince screamed, waving his gauntlet around in the air. "Forget about me, I'm fine!" His words were slightly covered with angered scolds from his captor. "Heal the land, quickly!"

Elika understood his request, but before she turned around the Concubine caught her attention as she exclaimed, "_Don't _move, _princess._" She practically hissed Elika's name as it dragged out from beneath her veil, and the Prince soon let out a pained yell as corrupted tendrils surrounded his muscles. The Concubine snickered as she spun around to face Elika above her, the Prince panting behind her as the corruption tightly surrounded him, making it hard for him to breath. "If you make one more step you're _little man _will be no longer!" The Prince let out another scream as the corruption tugged his muscles together, forcing him down onto his knees and making him drop his blade. The Prince struggled to remove his bindings but it was of no use for the moment.

Elika's heart felt as though it were entrapped in needles. She could hear the Prince's murmurs of pain slip out of his lips, which were followed by a cackle from the Concubine. Her brows drooped as the Prince let out, "Elika! Don't worry…about me!" once again. The Concubine scolded at him to be silent, and the grip of the corruption tightened, which now forced his body closer to the floor.

"No, no, stop it!" Elika yelled, her fists alit with blue energy. "Leave him be!" Anger and fear slipped through his veins, making her muscles tighten with tension and her heart beat with sharp pulses.

"Elika, _go_!" the Prince screamed at her. "She's weak—she can't hold this on me forever. Heal the land!" The Concubine screeched at his remark.

"How _dare _you question my prowess!" she exclaimed. One of her hands was clenched into a shaking fist, and the anger that flowed through her body was demonstrated on her physical being with her marks glowing with a deep hue. "I am going to _kill you_, little man! And there is absolutely nothing neither you _nor _your _precious little princess _can do to change your fate!"

_No, not yet_, Elika thought. _She will not get any further with this. _Part of her desperately wanted to go down and release the Prince from his captor, but there wasn't any time. The Fertile Ground was right before her, and healing it will banish the Concubine and her trickery from the land. Elika ran towards the Fertile Ground and placed her feet firmly in the center, her body alit with the blue glow that begged for its revival. She extended her arms and raised her head, allowing the energy to flow through her body and into the earth.

"_No_!" the Concubine screeched as the light bloomed from the top of the tower. She turned around to face the Prince, who was struggling to support his weight with his gloved hand as the corruption brought him closer towards the floor. "She may be healing this land but you will _never _live to see it," she snapped. With her words the corruption swirled around the Prince's body, crushing down his figure and putting extreme pressure onto his muscles and skeleton. The Prince screamed as he could feel his chest sink down into his lungs, making it nearly impossible to breathe and creating fearful thoughts of how his bones would snap due to the pressure. But then suddenly, the grip loosened. The corruption was still around his figure but most of the tendrils had retreated back into the pool of black beneath his feet. The Concubine gasped for breath as she fell down to the ground.

_That must have drained her of most of her energy_, the Prince thought, gasping for air and trying to refill his lungs. His body still pained with sores due to all of the pressure. That's when his blue irises managed to pick up something he thought he'd never see—color. An explosion of grass, butterflies, flowers, and other forms of life presented itself before his eyes. The corruption around his body quickly detangled itself and returned to the black pool in the ground before fading beneath the green earth.

"This is not over," the Concubine weakly whispered as her collapsed body was engulfed in dark energy. "I will kill you, little man. You and your precious princess..." Her body then disappeared beneath the green earth, and there was no way she was coming back.

As soon as Elika felt her feet tap onto the ground, she ran over towards the broken edge once again. She immediately noticed the absence of the Corrupted; however, shock entered her mind as she noticed the Prince on the ground, still entrapped within the golden cage.

"Are you injured?" she yelled to him, worry seeping into her voice. The Prince coughed and moaned as he slowly rose to his feet. He rotated his arms around and shifted his weight from one side of his body to the other as he checked for injuries other than the many scrapes his skin had on display.

"I'm fine," he said, the breath now returned to his lungs. "Thanks for saving me, but you still have one problem."

"And what is that?" Elika replied. The Prince spread out his arms as he walked closer to the bars of his little prison.

"I'm still in the cage!" he replied, a bit of annoyance slipping into his voice. "Get me out of here! I've had way too much fun for one day." Elika let a smile slip up her lips at his remark as she made her way over to the hallway that would lead her down.

"And we still have a _long _way to go," the Prince muttered to himself. A thought soon slipped into his mind and he shrugged. "Man. Farah better make it back, because once this is over, I am officially retiring."

--

_Continuing with the paraphrasing:  
So the dream part is actually only 2% of the story--it's the whole Prince illusion scene. I had a dream where the Prince's face was being changed in that exact manner and he was taunting me the whole way through. It scared the hell out of me (but I've gotta say the Prince actually looks kinda cool with blonde hair XD;;) and behold, writer's block was shattered and a story was born!_

_This is also based on my predictions during my first playthrough with the whole "Elika" rejoining the Prince thing. I thought for sure that Elika was actually the Concubine, because when she rejoins you she doesn't actually say anything and it made me suspicious. Alas, that was not the case, so again, behold! More story material!_

_Finally, basically the whole first quater of the story was based entirely off the game--all the dialogue and the chase sequence from all taken from the game, word for word. That's how we do it in fangirl country. Oh yeah, and I didn't think this story throught that much, so the whole ending was a quick little idea that I wanted to try--the Prince's role being switched to the damsal in distress. Elika was originally going to fight the Concubine but I thought it would be too redundant. I think it came out pretty good, thought. And the ending is actually more than just decent! Huzzah!_

_Anyway, I believe that's about all I have to say in the shortest amount of words possible, Rorshach style. I really hope you enjoyed this and thanks for reading, and please feel free to leave feedback; positive or negative is always apprciated!_

_And I swear I'll get to Faithless Believer soon. It SO does not feel like two months has went by since I last submitted something._


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